The Temperance of Brennenberg
by Gaara and his Little Panda-kun
Summary: In Daniel's time of residence in Brennenberg, his opinion not only changes in regards to its owner, but to the strong, stone walls themselves... Danielcentric, emotional rollercoaster.


These walls were his home, inevitably; they had become so when their master had hidden under the guise of help and charity. When he felt he was not in danger or peril, Daniel had come to treasure the solace that the Castle Brennenberg had to provide.

It was admittedly a dark and brooding castle; decorated high and low with replicas of ancient paintings and thick rugs, whose meager splendor couldn't hold up, necessarily, to the weight that the stone walls and floors provided. Even when the stone was paved over with wood of the finest caliber and taste, the deep rumble of the place sang out, as if the Castle had its own voice.

Daniel enjoyed it there. He had lived his life in a small home with only Hazel to appreciate for her deep beauty, and so, to be in a castle so full of the very thing that Hazel possessed, and that he envied her for, he felt inexplicably at ease. Every day there was a blessing; finding the nearest nook and cranny to indulge in every book that Alexander had passed his way, recommending him to read, was like finding his way through his soul.

It was easy to calm down on those nights when laudanum wasn't enough to quell the darkness that plagued him by simply speaking out to those walls, and letting them whisper back; and if he leaned forward he could press his sweaty forehead onto the cold, impassive stone and pretend that he was leaning on a father-figure made of ice, who simply accepted his sad embraces and let him sob his fears away without so much as a derisive word.

But Brennenberg was not all happiness; at least, not forever.

The time came when the top layer of Brennenberg was peeled back, revealing the lower levels deigned for darker purposes; and, in time, the cooling walls of stone weren't enough. He began to see the Fountain of Youth in his sleep, the cherub face screaming in the voices of all the men tortured in their graves below the ground as the blood hammered through his veins, and when he awoke, even the impassive stone walls of Brennenberg did not do anything to give him comfort. The castle, however far from human it might have been, had two faces as well, just as everyone else did.

He would wander the halls as a ghost, looking at the walls and feeling a sickening claustrophobia when he realized that, despite all of the room between himself and the chaos below, he still felt as if he was in the midst of everything he never wanted for himself. He would sometimes lash out at the stone that he once made out to be comforting, loving, **caring**, shouting at the stone itself and asking, 'Why? Why is all of this happening? Why did I make this choice? Am I wrong? Will I ever be able to live again?' And the walls, in all of the impassive glory that he once thought to be liberating, did not respond, and he felt more alienated than he had ever before in the entirety of the world.

Brennenberg was just a castle, as Alexander would tell him when the rafters began falling; and Daniel wouldn't believe it, thinking that Brennenberg had eyes, eyes that were always watching, waiting for Daniel to see his mistakes, listening and never saying a word.

When it all became too much, he took a draught of Damascus Rose and never spoke to the walls again.

Waking up in one of the more off-handed wings of Brennenberg, rising from the floor and traversing the halls nervously, he was witnessing Brennenberg again for the first time; but unlike before, he found no solace in its leaking rafters and high ceilings.

Only pain, weakness, and a haunting sort of sorrow that he couldn't quite place.

_**A/N: Hey, guys. Typed this in the dark, and I am so proud of my inability to type after a long period of not writing anything on my computer. *huzzah* So, anyway, this is sort of a psychological piece about Daniel and Brennenberg. Don't own Amnesia by the way; that all belongs to Frictional and yaddayaddayadda. Reviews are welcome. Thanks a lot. :)**_


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